1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to fuel-dispenser stations that are provided by fuel vendors at their fueling stations and which customers may operate to transfer fuel purchased from the fuel vendor from the fuel vendor""s fuel storage tank to the customer""s fuel reservoir. Such fuel-dispenser stations comprise one or more fuel hoses which have fuel-dispenser nozzles on a dispensing end thereof. Each of the fuel-dispenser nozzles may be used by the customer to control the rate of dispensation of fuel to their fuel reservoir. Such fuel-dispenser stations also generally comprise a so called hydraulic system which performs various functions related to control of fuel flow and measurement of fuel flow as fuel from the fuel vendor""s fuel storage tanks flows through the hydraulic system and subsequently to the fuel hoses of the fuel-dispenser station. Additionally, such fuel-dispenser stations comprise head electronics components that interact with the mechanical components of the fuel-dispenser station to control the dispensation of fuel and to provide for the customer transaction data such as price per unit for the fuel purchased, quantity of fuel purchased, and total price of fuel purchased. Many different constructions of such fuel-dispenser stations are known.
2. Description of the Related Art
Known fuel-dispenser stations as described above are constructed of hundreds of different components. Such fuel-dispenser stations generally comprise a fuel-dispenser frame structure to which most of the other components of the fuel-dispenser station are directly or indirectly mounted. In known constructions of fuel-dispenser stations, most of the components thereof are engaged to one another only through their engagement to the fuel-dispenser station frame-structure and in some cases through non-structural components such as electrical connection-components and/or fluid connection-components such as fuel conduits. Such a construction of fuel-dispenser stations, wherein most of the components thereof are structurally engaged to one another only through engagement to the fuel-dispenser station frame structure, dictates many of the processes that must be followed in designing, assembling and maintaining the fuel-dispenser station.
When designing known fuel-dispenser stations that utilize the same components in different spatial arrangements, it has been necessary to devote design time to conceive unique mounting and connection arrangements for each of the components for each fuel-dispenser station with a unique spatial arrangement of its components. Because traditional construction of fuel-dispenser stations dictates detail intensive design of different spatial arrangements of the components of fuel-dispenser stations, traditional construction of fuel-dispenser stations drives considerable design costs for new designs of fuel dispenser stations. Traditional construction of fuel-dispenser stations further dictates that the fuel-dispenser station either be assembled as a substantially complete unit and shipped in such an assembled state to the fueling station or that the components of the fuel-dispenser station be assembled together on-site at the fueling station.
Assembling the fuel-dispenser station as a unit and shipping it in assembled form to the fueling station can be costly and present various packaging and shipping challenges. Assembling the fuel-dispenser station on-site at the fueling station can be difficult for the assemblers who may be working in adverse conditions and/or may have limited resources available to them during assembly.
Traditional construction of fuel-dispenser stations also dictates that most diagnosis and repair of malfunctioning systems and subsystems of the fuel-dispenser station must also be done on-site at the fueling station where the repairer may be working in adverse conditions and/or may be working with limited resources.
According to the present invention a fuel-dispenser station is constructed of one or more hydraulic modules, fuel-hose modules, and/or head electronics modules. A hydraulics module of a fuel-dispenser station according to the present invention comprises a plurality of hydraulics components of a hydraulics system of the fuel-station. A fuel-hose module of a fuel-dispenser station according to the present invention comprises one or more fuel hoses, a fuel-dispensing nozzle for each fuel hose, and structure for supporting the fuel hoses and fuel-dispensing nozzles. A head-electronics module of a fuel-dispenser station according to the present invention comprises head electronic components of said fuel-dispenser station. Each of these types of modules comprise a module frame-structure to which all of the components of the module are directly or indirectly engaged and from which these components derive support directly or indirectly. Additionally, each of these types of modules comprises all electrical connection-components and/or mechanical connection-components necessary to electrically connect the components of the module to one another so that they may function as necessary for proper operation of the fuel-dispenser station.
All of the electrical connection-components and/or mechanical connection-components, including connection components between components of the module and connection components for connection of the components of the module to the other components of the fuel-dispenser station, are also engaged directly or indirectly to and derive support directly or indirectly from the frame structure of the module. Thus, each of the types of modules which a fuel-dispenser station according to the present invention may comprise is a self-contained subsystem of the fuel-dispenser station that may be mounted to the frame structure of the module as a unit and connected to the other components of the fuel-dispenser station thereafter.
The advantages of a fuel-dispenser station constructed in accordance with the present invention relate to the processes of designing, assembling, and maintaining such a fuel-dispenser station. The process of designing a plurality of variations of fuel-dispenser stations according to the present invention is substantially more cost effective than the process of designing a plurality of variations of fuel-dispenser stations of traditional construction. This is so, because there is less duplication of detail work when designing multiple variations of fuel-dispenser stations according to the present invention. When designing multiple variations of fuel-dispenser stations according to the present invention, one design of a hydraulics module, a fuel-hose module, and/or a head electronics module may be utilized in each different design of fuel-dispenser station. Thus, by utilizing a module that has already been designed in a new design for a fuel-dispenser station, the designer avoids the necessity to conceive the details of how the components contained in the module will be supported and how they will be connected to one another. The process of assembling a fuel-dispenser station according to the present invention may comprise a step of assembling one or more of a hydraulics module, a fuel-hose module, and/or a head-electronics module in a controlled environment such as a manufacturing facility and subsequently assembling those modules to the fuel-dispenser frame structure of the fuel-dispenser station. Such a process of assembling a fuel-dispenser station is advantageous because the assembler of the one or more modules may assemble the modules in a comfortable environment with the appropriate resources to most easily assemble the module. Assembling modules as a unit before assembling them to the fuel-dispenser station has the further advantage that the subsystem of the fuel-dispenser station, which the module constitutes, may be tested for proper operation within the controlled environment before the module is shipped for assembly to the other components of the fuel-dispenser station. A fuel-dispenser system constructed of one or more of a hydraulics module, a fuel-hose module, and/or a head electronics module further provides advantages related to the processes according to which maintenance of the fuel-dispenser station is performed. When the subsystem, which a hydraulics module, a fuel-hose module, or a head electronics module constitutes, is malfunctioning, that module may be separated, as a unit, from the fuel-dispenser station and transported to a location more favorable for diagnosis and repair of the module.